Interesting and a nice backstory. In order to let the other blade (Acer) come into play, perhaps he found a way to partially complete his purpose: he could restore his sister to her original form, but only at the cost of himself becoming a blade. Then you would have, essentially, a single NPC who could take the form of Acer wielding Xiphi or Xiphi wielding Acer. It might take a while for the PCs (and the other inhabitants of the world) to work out that they are really one and the same. Go to Comment

Another good post. I like the whole story competition - could be great if the PCs arrive then and listen to it, a chance to slot in all sorts of legends, myths etc. about the world, some of which might be significant later in the campaign.

I assume that Baduk, the black and white stones game is Go (if you use your hook of making the PCs play it)? I thought of backgammon first, but there's no way someone can always win that, due to the luck element.

Question: does Unquis have a wife or any children? If so, are they involved in the inn? Go to Comment

I guess you could incorporate particularly different distinct dialects by saying that instead of only understanding that dialect to one level lower than usual, you only understand it to two levels lower. Go to Comment

Good - I like the idea and it's well-presented, particularly some of the facts about its young. From the ecological point of view there are at least a couple of flaws:
a) There is no way an arctic environment could sustain such a predator. There is just not enough food. Whilst normally we can say, "oh well, OK, it's fantasy", the fact that it has to eat every two days meant I really couldn't ignore it: most top predators can go a long time without eating and, in general, the bigger the creature, the longer they can go (though they can gorge themselves when they do eat, e.g. eating a couple of mammoths).
b) Coupled with this, it would need an absolutely enormous range. This would just get worse if two of them were hunting together. Perhaps, if they mate for life, they do not always hunt together, but just for a short period; however, every year when they return to the volcanoes, they seek out the same partner and hunt together again as part of the mating ritual.

Finally, a question. When you say it burrows through snow, can it go through solid ice too (e.g. a polar icecap)? Go to Comment

A superb backstory for an excellent dark item. One question: what relevance does the synopsis have? It gave me an impression of an old hermit-type man who lived on a hill and people came to him to become saints. If they'd done enough miracles he killed them. It could have been either a genuine but misguided act of worship (i.e. he thought he was doing the will of the appropriate god), some form of con-trick (i.e. they paid him for the "privelege") or even an evil ploy, to rid the world of the most holy people without effort. As I say, what you actually wrote about was brilliant, but I still would be interested to know what you were thinking about when you wrote the synopsis. Go to Comment

Good solid mercenary company with a difference. Why do they price themselves so high that so few can afford them and that causes animosity: wouldn't it be good business sense to lower it a bit?

I found the bit about them acting as crossbowmen a bit hard to swallow (though I could certainly see that they would be trained with the crossbow). As I read this, they seemed to be ultra elite troops: very highly skilled, very well paid and very arrogant. Why would they deign to risk their lives in combat (even ranged combat) with common soldiers?
3.5/5 but witholding vote for now as, knowing you Moonhunter, you have some excellent answers to these questions! Go to Comment

Pretty good. Especially good in a low-magic world, where spell-casting is rare and the material components are rare. Also, what if most spell-casting components "went off"; e.g. "dew collected from a snowdrop in a lunar eclipse" must be used within a day of being collected - unless, of course, it is stored in a materian. This way, if you trade away (or use) your materian, you will not be able to use any of the spells that require that component unless you find or trade for another. The more time had elapsed since the event, the rarer and more expensive the materian could be. "The last leaf of a 100 year oak tree to fall in autumn" (used in, for example, the spell "alter form") would be comparatively cheap in winter, but much rarer and more costly in summer. Go to Comment

Very good. I liked it a lot but kept thinking, "Why would he turn to evil?" But then you explained it and it went from good to very good indeed!

Plot hook - the PCs witness a crime but, for whatever reason, do nothing. Perhaps they have no evidence, just decide not to get involved, are trying to investigate but haven't got anywhere yet. A week or so later, they hear that Sir Edmund is acting as an alibi witness for that same crime. They know he is lying. If they try to speak out, they will likely be discredited, distrusted and gain a powerful enemy. They may have to leave the kingdom. On the other hand, if they keep quiet, there actions for much of the rest of the campaign will be affected by the fact that they know Sir Edmund is not all he seems to be. Go to Comment

Excellent! A nice, simple and not too weird or outlandish town that can very easily be used. (Don't get me wrong, I love reading the outlandish ones but they're often a lot more unique and hard to slip in to your own game). A town grown up around a saint; the festivals, places of interest and curiosities (I can see my PCs getting really worked up over the cat); it is all great. Interestingly, I got a somewhat eastern European feel from the town; I'm not sure why - possibly from the patron saints and processions. Go to Comment

Extremely good - why shouldn't dragons take an interest in human affairs? An excellent submission and a great follow-up to "The Oversized Baby". A great idea would be if you had included "The Oversized Baby" in a campaign then when the campaign was completed (and that incident all-but forgotten as a minor subplot), start a campaign 200 years later with the same gaming group so they can encounter Vychan as he is today. Go to Comment

Yes, nice and solid - excellent for PCs of whatever level. I'm glad you put in the "how to use it" suggestions. Another possibility, only suitable for a one-off session or the start of a campaign, is that the PCs are local villagers. The events surrounding this "demon", real or imaginary, are what could bring the group together in the first place. Go to Comment

Sisters of Light

The players encounter an organization dedicated to toppling tyrannous governments; both good and evil. Secretly, they are led by the twin daughters of Lucifer / The Lightbringer / (Generic Adversary God). These daughters have an appropriate set of divine or demonic powers, but strictly speaking, are not evil.